My Comic Book Journey: 2026 Update Part 2

    As I was writing this year's series on video games, I realized I had forgotten about a source for comic books in the original creation of "My Comic Book Journey."  Namely, guides and magazines. Occasionally, they would have previews of comics within their pages or as an ins ert bagged with the magazine. While not a big source for comics, I did exclude them from my initial listing. 

    I think I got my first comic book price guide in the late 80s. While the cover was in color, the rest of it was in black and white. They had a few one-page articles, and the rest of the issue was dedicated to listing the prices of collectable comics. The focus was on older titles, with only the rare item on newer ones. This first guide was on a bimonthly or quarterly schedule, but I did get it whenever I saw it on the newsstand. 

    Things would change in 1992 when I saw Wizard #7, possibly 8, at a store. (I somehow missed the first few issues. I never did figure out how that happened.) This magazine was unlike any comic book dedicated one I had. It was full-color. While it had the usual price guide, it also had multiple articles on a number of topics, focusing on current titles as opposed to older ones. It was also the first magazine I found that included previews. It blew my mind how much I liked it. I immediately started collecting it, although I missed two issues those first few years and ordered them from the publisher. (The only time I ever did that.) Wizard became so popular that it had spinoffs focused on on toys (Toyfare, which I never got), trading card games and RPGs (InQuest), and Japanese cartoons and comics (Anime Invasion, later Insider). 

    These mags were a staple for me throughout the 90s and early 2000s. Unfortunately, the publishing market began to change. One after another, the magazines were cancelled, and I was temporarily bereft of information. Sure, there were others magazines and online sources, but not everything was the same.

    Following is a list of places where I got these magazines. As always, closed businesses are in black; open businesses are in red if they no longer sell mags and blue if they do. I'm probably missing a few places, mostly if I only went there once or if the mag was more pop culture rather than exclusively about comics.

• Readmore Bookstore, Prestonsburg: I picked up a few issues here, as well as a couple of trading card mags in the mid-90s. They are also the reason why I missed out on two issues.
• Rite-Aid, Highlands Plaza, Prestonsburg: This is a weird one. One morning, my mom picked up a prescription or some meds here, and I got a comic or trading card mag here. We then went on to somewhere else, either a dentist appointment in Paintsville or the Huntington Mall. The latter is slightly more likely, but atypical. Only time I remember stopping like this
• Economy Drug, Pikeville:  This is where I first found Wizard, and the only time I think I bought it here. They haven't had mags in many, many years.
• Page 3 GameZone, Pikeville: I got the majority of mags here over the decades, with most as a part of my regular pull. However, after their re-opening after the 2025 flood, they haven't been getting as many comic books related items. I am not sure if their current distributor even carries any comic-related mags at this time.
• Readmore Bookstore, Coal Run: This is where I not only got my first price guide, but where I got many of them before Page 3 opened. It was mostly that first one I mentioned previously, although they stopped carrying it a few years before they closed the store. I think the guide continued though. . .
• Waldenbooks, Huntington Mall: And I would find its updated version here. At least I think it was the same mag. If it was, it got a serious upgrade. Full color articles on multiple topics, new and old. A black and white price guide that ran a running feature about the subject matter in a number of titles that continued in each issue. I mean, this mag was terrific, and I only found it here. I almost added to my pull at Page 3, but I didn't realize that I could until the about the time the title was cancelled. I can't remember if that happened before or after the store closed.
• Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Mall at Lexington Green, Lexington:  Back when I first started going back to Lexington on a semi-regular basis in the early 90s, I saw this small newspaper about comic books called, simply enough, Comic Book News. I had heard about it from somewhere, but I can't remember exactly how. However, I loved the thing. Sure, some of the info was a little old, but it was still a solid source of information. The store only carried it for a short time before stopping. Strangely enough, not a single comic book that I've been to since has carried it. The paper still is being published, but they don't have an online version. I still kind of miss it.
• Comic Book World, Florence, online only: A new magazine, Comics! The Magazine, came out earlier this year. I have gotten the first few issues of it through here. I'm still debating over if I want to continue getting it not, even after five issues. It's okay, but there isn't enough variety in it yet to thrill me. I even found a mistake or two.

    As I said, I only hit the highlights I'm fairly certain about. You may have noticed a few mentions about trading cards.Well, they will be the focus on this year's capsule series this October, so be on the lookout for it this fall.

My Culinary Odyssey: 2026 Update

    I've finally found the time to update last year's series about everywhere I've eaten out. I wish I could say I've gone to somewhere new in the past year, but I haven't. This update is more about clarification and correction than anything new.  Still, there are a few places I need to add some details to. All are in blue, as they are all still open. I didn't eat at any of them, but I someone did.

    Hardee's, Louisa, TO:  While I wasn't sure if I really did stop here before when I first gave it an entry last year, I have since had to stop here a few times on my way back from the Huntington Mall. The parking lot was a large, but a little uneven is places. I stayed in the car, but it looked to be fairly large.

    Wendy's, Norton, VA, TO:  I gave this place a partial entry last year, but I'm giving it a full one now. I stopped here during my quest for missing comic books after my regular store closed temporarily after last the February 2025 floods. Again, I stayed out in the car, while they went in. They really liked it. Soon after this trip, we stopped going to Wendy's for mornings. (I've eaten lunch at Wendy's a few times since then. Most recently, I had the banana swirl vanilla Frosty. I liked it much better than the strawberry one, although if you could mix the two....)  Ever since they discontinued their oat and fruit bars, they haven't wanted to stop there for breakfast anymore. I offered to try recreate them, but I was turned down after they  looked at some clone recipes online. None of the recipes looked particularly good to them.

    Popeye's, Fayette Mall, Lexington:  As I mentioned in another post, I almost stopped here for lunch during my fall trip to Lexington last year. I was really intrigued with their special garlic parmesan chicken strips promotion, that also came with a small cake. I decided against it just before ordering. The meal also came with a soft drink, which I wouldn't have. See, I don't like large, public restrooms, so I try to limit my fluid intake on longer trips. While basic water would have been okay, a carbonated and sweetened beverage would not be, especially so early into the trip. I wasn't sure if it could be substituted, so I chickened out. Still might want to try eating there one day.

    One of the things I pointed out last year were promotion items, many of which you had to pay for. The one item I frequently got were the holiday mugs from LJS. However, I would occasionally get glassware from other places.  Most of those have long since broken over the decades, but I have a few left. One of these is a glass from Burger Queen/Druthers, or somewhere else in Prestonsburg. At the start of the Smurf craze, she got me a glass featuring Baker Smurf, who I never heard of. I would later find out that in the original European comics, the village had a Smurf who did most of the cooking, Baker Smurf. He wore a chef's hat and apron. They also had a Smurf who would take all of the food and try to eat it, Greedy Smurf. In the US cartoon, Hanna Barbara combined the two into a Greedy Smurf who wore the hat and apron. Not only would he make the food, he would try to eat the desserts as well. I guess it makes some sense.

    Finally, after decades of not taking any promotional items from anywhere, I got my second Burger King crown last fall. I know, stupid of me, but after getting my first one just a few months earlier, I decided I needed a second one.  This was in the Halloween design, where the various food products were in costume. I figured out of them, except for the vampire. He didn't look like any item on the menu that I could tell. 

    Yes, I still have it.

    Both of them actually.

    Stupid, but whatever.

I Have a Confessions II Review

    It took almost a week, but I finally got Madonna's Confessions II last week. I almost didn't get, but since Walmart only had two copies left, and I didn't expect to go anywhere else that might have it any sooner, I decided to buy it. I waited a few days to listen to it.  No real reason why, but I did. Anyway, here is my review from the first listen.  

    Before I review the album, I will have to talk a little about the packaging.  Walmart had the price label right on top of the explicit lyric sticker. How interesting. (By the way, there isn't that much that could be called explicit, in my opinion.) The back cover was just another photo with the standard copyright notices. No track list. The package was a cardboard sleeve with a plastic inlaid tray for the mostly blank CD. I prefer the old plastic cases, as they provided more protection. I know that cardboard sleeves are better for the environment. However, this mix is the worst of both worlds, as the tray barely provides extra coverage and makes the sleeve more difficult to recycle. Instead of a booklet, the CD comes with a mini-poster, the same images found on the ubiquitous full-size posters promoting the album. No track list or credits, no real liner notes of any kind. Now, there hasn't been any lyric sheets on a Madonna album since Ray of Light or so, but I would have wanted a little bit more than what was included.

    Without a track list, I was forced to search online for one, just so I could tell which songs were which and the order they came in.  Since the tracks blend into each other, such information is vital. "Bring Your Love" was the obvious first single, as it has the most traditional song structure of the sixteen tracks, and not just that it is a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter. "Danceteria" is probably my favorite track. Yes, many critics and fans agree, but only because it is that good of a song. If I have to pick a least favorite track, it has to be "My Sins Are My Savior" if only because it is mostly in French. (I'm better at reading French to listening to it.) Still, this opinion might change on further listenings.

    I feel that the songs reference many of the same themes, ideas, melodies, and even lyrics of Madonna's previous works. Even if I hadn't read various views over the past few weeks, I would come to these very same conclusions. Some might call this repetitive, but it really isn't. Instead, Madonna approaches these subjects from a somewhat different view, one of recollection and introspection. Such views usually are seen in her ballads, not her dance tracks, and that brings a freshness to the music. This really is her 'ultimate' dance album. Not just that it collects all of her previous takes into one singular album, but it suggests that she doesn't need to ever make another dance album ever again, even if she has a chance to. Sometimes, the connection to previous material gets a little too much, even within tracks on the album referencing each other. It is not a bad thing, but the sense of nostalgia grows.  The last six or so tracks start to slow down, dragging the entire down slightly. Such topics might have been better handled in ballads instead, but the dance-takes do add a certain directness that ballads usually don't have.

    I do feel that this will be Madonna's last dance only album.  Maybe there will be an ultimate ballad album in the near future to complete the overall career arc. Even if that never happens, this would still stand as her ultimate work.  4.75 out of five stars, based solely on a first listen. Rating could change upon further listenings. 

You Wanna Even More Madonna?

    This week, I will continue my history with Madonna with a few more albums. 

    In 2003, a flood took many of my things. However, my music collection was mostly spared, at least the cassettes were. A lot of my CDs were taken out. It was just bad enough that I haven't gone back to listen to the majority of my old tunes ever since. (My mom threw out her entire collection of vinyls, even though most of them could've been saved, in my opinion, but when she gets in a mood there is no stopping her or changing her mind.)

    I think I had already gotten a copy of American Life by then, but I'm not sure. I got a second copy regardless. Somehow, the jewel case cover got cracked, so the store may have had a bad copy or whatnot. The album only had one hit, "Die Another Die" from the 'James Bond' movie of the same name. Very underperforming. Maybe that's why the EP Remixed and Revisited was released soon after. My favorite songs, "Hollywood" and "Love Profusion," were featured prominently, as well as the live twentieth anniversary performance of "Like a Virgin" featuring Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera at the MTV Video Music Awards. 

    After some time off from a horse riding accident, Madonna came out with her second big critical success, Confessions on a Dance Floor. Each song bleeds into the next, as if it were an actual dance club loop, with the last song transitioning into the first. I have played this one a lot. My favorite track is "Get Together." It wasn't a big hit, but I just love everything about it. The song was the last CD single, or any single, I ever bought. (The physical market for singles just dried up.) At almost forty-five minutes, the single is more of an EP, but that is a small quibble. (It has five remixes of the song, plus one for a second track.)

    After that, Madonna had one last album to complete her Warner Music contract, Hard Candy. There were too many collaborations for my taste.  Compared to Confessions, anything else would feel incomplete. If I have to choose a favorite, I guess I would be "Give It to Me," but I barely played it. This would be followed by the two CD best greatest hits collection Celebration. It features thirty-four of her biggest hits, plus two new songs. I didn't like either that much, although I would give "Celebration" the nod if I had to. Now, Madonna had more than enough hits for a third CD. Most of those songs were for other labels though, so they weren't included, although a number of her other hits for Warner could have been included. Many of those were top ten smashes as well.

    Madonna had three independent albums, none of which I listened to all that much. MDNA was first, but the vibes just felt off for me. Maybe it was all the hype from performing the Super Bowl halftime show. I guess "Girl Gone Wild" would be my favorite here. Next comes Rebel Heart. Somehow, I bought the deluxe version of the album with extra tracks, after I thought I only got the basic version. I thought it was better than her previous album, but not by much. I would say "Ghosttown" would be my pick here. Then came Madame X. This was more of a concept album, founded on her exploration of Portuguese music, but I found it too experimental. Not bad, just not for me. "I Don't Search I Find" might be my favorite here, but I didn't play this one enough to really favor one song more than others.

    As a tease when she rejoined Warner, Madonna had a sixth collection of songs come out celebrating her fifty number one songs on Billboard's dance charts. Finally Enough Love had sixteen of her dance number ones, in specifically the versions which made it. The full three CD version had all fifty tracks, but it apparently was only available digitally, so I never got the version.

    Her newest album, Confessions II, was released last Friday, after months of promotion. I wasn't able to go out a buy a copy yet, if it was even available out here in the boondocks on time. There have been delays, up to a day or more on occasion. Sure, I could have tried to get a digital version on time, but after having two floods take almost everything I own, I need to have the physical copy if there is a choice. I'm limited to where I could buy it, and I just hope the CD is available. I don't have a phonograph for vinyl, I that's mostly the only new releases the local Walmart seems to get in. Barely anything else. 

    If I am fortunate, I will pick up my copy tomorrow and review it for week's post. Otherwise, I will still wanna a Madonna album, but with no idea where to find one.

Do You Wanna Madonna?

    I wasn't a big fan of Madonna when she first became popular when I was in grade school. I only got to hear the radio about once a week or so until I was in high school. I didn't get a boom box until Christmas of 88. I got my first CD player as a graduation present in 90. The cable service didn't start including MTV in its main package until I was in college. (All I had was this weird video show on TBS Friday and Saturday nights that wouldn't always show the biggest hits.) When I finally got into her music, I didn't look back. I'm still a fan of sorts to this day. In honor of her newest album coming out this Friday, I am going over my history with her music, starting from the beginning.

    My first cassette single [remember those] of hers was probably "Keep It Together," the last major single from her Like a Prayer album. I probably got it at Walmart. I was getting singles practically every time I went on a shopping trip. Didn't really like it, but was better than "Oh Father," the single that preceded it, which may have been my actual first Madonna single. 

    "Vogue" was the first major song that I got. This was memorable because I got it after a school trip to Morehead State University. Finding out it would have been cheaper if I had gotten it at the Walmart in the same shopping center was slightly disappointing. It was the lead single from what would be my first Madonna album, I'm Breathless: Music from and Inspired by the Film Dick Tracy. I got the cassette instead of the CD. It would have been my second ever disc, but I was put off by the music store, so I chose the easier option. I only went to that store one or two more times. It was hard to get to. (It soon turned into a medical supply store, and I think it is now part of Pikeville Medical Center in some fashion.) My favorite song from the album was not "Vogue," but the ballad "Something to Remember." For some reason, it just hit me based on the feelings I had after graduation. It is actually a very popular opinion, which I'll come back to.

    My actual first Madonna CD would be The Immaculate Collection, her first greatest hits album and her second compilation. (Her first compilation was of her biggest dance hits up to the late 80s. I'll come back to this idea at a later time.) The album would have two new songs, with my favorite being "Rescue Me." 

    After the movie song "This Used to Be My Playground," from A League of Their Own which she had a role in, I got my first actual studio album from her. Erotica. Still feels strange typing that, even though I was twenty by the time it came out. I can't remember if I got the album immediately or if I waited. I seem to recall getting two at the same time, after waiting on another. Anyway, my favorite song from that album is "Deeper and Deeper." It's a hard-hitting dance track with an unusual flamenco bridge in the middle.

    After yet another song from a movie, "I'll Remember," Madonna released Bedtime Stories. I remember the unusual program that she had before releasing the video for the title track on MTV. She actually tried to read a children's book, but kept getting interrupted. While the album features her biggest number one hit, "Take a Bow," I didn't care too much for the songs. Overall, either "Secret Garden" or "Human Nature" would be my favorite. 

    Next came another compilation Something to Remember, this time featuring her biggest ballads and the new song "You'll See," which was the spiritual sequel to "Take a Bow." At least the video was. (Yes, my favorite song from earlier was technically the title track.) The videos were a precursor to her title role in Evita. I did not get the soundtrack album. I am not that big of a musical theatre nerd. I did get the singles "You Must Love Me" and "Don't Cry for Me Argentina." I think the second was a CD single with remixes.

    All of this was just the build up to what would be her biggest critical album to date, Ray of Light. For once, I feel that the title track was my favorite, although "Nothing Really Matters" was also pretty good. No number ones, though. That didn't bode well with me. This would be followed up by two more songs from movies, "Beautiful Stranger" and a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie." Neither were released as singles. Wisely for the latter. It was widely panned.

    For some reason, I missed on the information that Music, her album from 200, was coming out. I guess I was busy with opening my store. The album featured a lot of inspiration from country music, especially my favorite track, "Don't Tell Me." I didn't get to play this CD that much, as I was too busy with my new business. I barely even acknowledged her next compilation album GHV2 was coming out. This was her second biggest hits album, but it had no new material. I mostly remember it because of the liner notes were written by Sacha Baron Cohen in his "Ali G" persona. (The cab driver was a part of the video for "Music.")

    That's when the music took a break, but I'll continue this thought next week. See you then.

Extreme Makeover: Blogcast Edition 2026

    So, I've been thinking about a design upgrade to my blog. When I first started this many, many years ago, I was just fooling around. I didn't give too much thought about what I could be doing with this thing. As such, I skipped a few details involving the design. Really. Since I didn't have a computer, I was forced to fix up my blog in short increments whenever I could steal some extra time at a local library while using their computers. Recently, I've been noticing the look of my blog whenever I have to go and post it when it shows up in my Memories on Facebook. The blog looks so dull, especially when compared to other things I see online. It just makes me want to change the entire setup however I can. Yes, I have a computer and almost unlimited time just to make everything just right, but I just don't have that much impetus to actually make the changes. I just want to update things for a better look, you know?

    Okay, full disclosure.  I have a confession. I didn't have a good idea for the subject of today's post. None. See, I have a slight problem. Today's post was supposed to be the 2026 update to My Culinary Journey series from last year. However, I wanted to go on my annual summer shopping trip first, in case I ate at a new place. The trip got delayed for many issues that includes fixing my broken glasses and avoiding some bad weather. As such, I still haven't gone yet, but I am scheduled to go very soon still. Starting next week, I have at least two, probably three, posts planned that I couldn't change the dates for, as they are tied to an event in early July. After that, then I can go back to the many ideas I've got planned, including that update. 

    For today, I'm just goofing around, writing whatever I can so that I can keep to my weekly schedule. The teaser for the link I'll be posting on Facebook will include my taste test of Mug Vanilla Howler. Spoiler, I'm not sure I liked it.

    Random thought. I've been seeing a lot of vehicles with a matte grey finish lately. I really hate it, as something about them is unsettling. The flat dull sameness of these vehicles just feels off somehow. The fact that so many just seemed to pop up suddenly all but scares me. It is almost like the things aren't real or maybe not of this world. If the vehicles were all the same make and model, I think it would make more sense. However, these are coming from different companies and brands. Maybe I would feel different if they were shiny, reflecting the sun proving their reality. These are just a dull dark gray, otherworldly in a negative sense. They do not belong to this world, but another.

    As to next week's post, I hid a big clue in these ramblings. Do you wanna find it?

Are These Eyeglasses Half-Broken or Half-Repaired?

    So, I broke my eyeglasses again. It happened late Friday night. I was just taking my glasses off, when the left stem came off of the hinge. The two parts just separated, with nothing else falling off. This isn't anything like ten plus years ago when my old, old glasses had the left hinge break off. It looked like I could just insert the stem back on the tiny peg on the hinge to repair it. Unfortunately, the stem wouldn't stay attached. Also, for some reason, the left lens was extremely close to my eye. Even when I tried looking out of my glasses without the left stem in, the left lens still got very close to my eye. I couldn't figure out why it would tilt so.

    Since it was the weekend, my optometrist wasn't open, and I was stuck until Monday morning. Fortunately, I still had the replacement glasses that I got when the hinge broke off the previously mentioned pair. Unfortunately, the lens came from that old pair, and they were already about ten years old or more at the time. I had a totally different prescription now involving bifocals.  While I could 'see,' I had trouble reading and viewing screens. Worse, there were still traces of adhesive that I could never remove from when the lens got put in. I had to either try to use my current broken glasses and risk my eyeball or just go without whenever I tried to read or play games. I had a major Golf Clash tournament over the weekend that was already going to be hard, and playing without my glasses made it even harder.

    At least I had one saving grace. I still had my prescription sunglasses that I got last year. This meant I could drive without any difficulties. There was no way I could drive without wearing something, and my sunglasses are bifocal as well, allowing me a full range of vision. I couldn't wear them inside though. It made everything too dark. 

    I was able to go to my optometrist Monday morning. Some remodeling was going on in one of the back rooms, making it very loud. Some young kids who were waiting there would occasionally shout over the work going on in back. This was the second time I had to replace this brand of glasses due to a part failure. The previous time, one of the nose guards fell off. It was a minor issues, but my mom forced me to get the frames replaced. Not repaired, as there was apparently no way to re-attach the broken nose guard. I'm not certain, but I think these might be a replacement pair as well.  The hinges are noticeably tighter than my previous pair, and I think the style/color is off just slightly as well. 

    Anyway, I'm seeing again just fine without any worries. For now. I'm on my third pair of these glasses in just under four years. I had my previous pair over a decade before I had a problem with them. Their replacement still looks okay, even though the styling is dated. Even my previous pair of sunglasses are still good, even if I no longer wear them regularly, and they are at least fifteen years old. Maybe almost twenty. No real problems with them, but the newer, way more expensive ones?

    I'll come back to this topic in another year or two

Red, White, and Lots of Blueberries

    I can't remember when I had my first blueberry. It may have been in high school, or quite possibly college. I know that sounds fairly late in life to try something so common, but I am quite the picky eater. Blueberries just weren't that big a thing when I was a kid.  Sure, they were around, but it took some time before I tried them, probably on one of my new food kicks that I used to go on all the time when I just got bored with everything else.  However, once I tried the actual fruit, I was hooked. I began trying everything that was blueberry-flavored. To a point.

    My initial dislike of blueberries may come from something my mother once forced me to try, blueberry cream cheese danish. While I might have liked the fruit, the cream cheese was just not something I could tolerate. I guess I tried a few other things before I got to the actual berries.  I mean, blueberries aren't even blue on the inside. The flesh is whitish, generally speaking. Very ripe berries might be darker, but I am starting to lose my train of thought.

    The first blueberry product that really took my interest was Pillsbury Toaster Strudel. Blueberry wasn't one of the original flavors, I think. I tried strawberry, but I didn't really like the flavor of strawberries when heated. Blueberry, however, is superb. Even as new flavor came out, I would return to blueberry. The only other flavor that caught my attention was Wildberry, which was a mix of strawberry and blueberry, maybe a touch of another. That one was discontinued, although a Mixed Berry limited-edition came out for last year, with special strawberry icing. Alas, the promotion ended. The current one features a strawberry/cream cheese with blue blueberry icing, a first. Haven't seen this one in store yet, just the apple pie flavor, but I'm still on the lookout.

    I also tried dozens of blueberry cereal bars. I almost stopped after the first one I tried because it tasted horrible. Maybe it was a spice in the filling, but I couldn't stand it. I occasionally tried a different flavor in the beans, and while it wasn't the type of filling I liked, it didn't taste as bad. I kept trying new bars, but they were always discontinued after a time. There was even one with blueberries and cream cheese that I actually could tolerate. Almost all of them now gone. The few left that I alternate are just barely better than the previous one, which is still the industry leader. There is one that is quite similar to that flavor to an Archway blueberry cookie, which was my absolute favorite in the world, before the current owners pared down the varieties and eliminated it. That's just the story of my life.

    I've had blueberry danishes, scraping off some of the cream cheese when necessary. I've made my own blueberry muffins, and even coffee cakes, from mixes, but the best ones were discontinued. I'm a fiend for blueberry jelly doughnuts whenever I can get them, but they are hard to find lately. I try other bakery blueberry products, with mixed results. 

    One type of product that has just come out are ice creams with blueberries. Years and years ago, I remember trying a blueberry and blackberry ice cream from Pet. (This was before I started trying blackberries by the way. Also, a fairly strong favorite.) However, Pet is no longer carried anywhere anymore, if it even still exists. Even if it does, that flavor is long gone, but other brands have brought out something new. First Bluebell has brought back its Red, White, & Bluebell flavor, which is a mix of strawberry, vanilla, and blueberry flavors swirled together. Fortunately, I live on the eastern end of the range and can get this flavor, only in half-gallons. I don't know if I would like it enough to get that much. I mean, I loved the Dr Pepper float flavor, but the banana fudge was lacking a bit. Still, blueberry ice cream. Another store had a 'gourmet' store brand with a 'huckleberry' flavor in pints, but quite expensive. Technically, huckleberries are just larger, wild blueberries, so I might like them. Not so sure about it being a store brand, but the prospect is almost too tempting.

    One thing I don't get is cheesecake. Not even blueberries can change that. I also try to steer around anything with lemon. The flavors match well enough, but the combination is not a favorite. Personally, blood orange might be the better citrus choice, but that is so rare that I would skip it for the most part.

    Thank you 'berry' much for being here today. See you next week.

Paint the Town and Country Shopping Center Red, and More

    As I mentioned before, the shopping center where my store is located got sold to a hospital. Still kind of worried about why a NPO wants with a retail establishment, but whatever. In doing so, the new owners have decided to make some renovations to the center. A major one was been repainting the marquees and support pillars in the hospital's signature gray. However, the individual units are not being painted gray. No, they have been repainted in a bunch of different colors. Six in all.

    First, there is a terra cotta orangey red. Really in your face. It gives a strong Southwestern feel. Next is a light orange, close to apricot. Very pale, but still recognizable. After that is a creamy, yellow neutral. Very close to butter, yet darker than ecru. Fourth is a minty green with just a touch of blue. Fairly unnatural, but somewhat appealing. That is followed by a light, sky blue. Nothing remarkable about it. Finally, there is another blue, mixed with grey and a touch of purple. It's very close to the accent color of my store's interior. For the sake of explanation, let's call these six colors, in order, as follows:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. (I also forgot the Oxford comma. Very necessary.)

    Probably fortunately, these six colors cycle in a pattern among the eighteen units at the center.  In fact, I hadn't realized that the center had that many units, not counting the former supermarket that was the anchor at the east end. Going from east to west, the colors cycle yellow, green, red, blue, orange, violet. Units supposedly didn't get to choose which color they got; they just got whatever color was next in the cycle. I say 'supposedly' because one unit may have got to pick green for their unit. I find that strange, as the unit is a boutique with a pink color scheme inside. The two colors have a watermelon feel, which might work on some level. Maybe. My store got the yellow. This so happens to be just a tad brighter than the original ecru that was the original interior color for my store before we repainted a long time ago. At least the contrast makes the store a little brighter.

    Of particular note is the church. (Yes, one unit of the center is now being used for a church. It was previously a dialysis clinic.  Before that, it was a drugstore and the main display for a Sears franchise. [The two even switched out in the early 70s.] The Sears took up many of the units before they were divided a very long time ago.) They didn't seem to get any favors out of this.  While not a traditional white, they were able to get the lightest color of the six made available, the orange. Of the other five colors, only the yellow would've been even barely appropriate. The church has the largest wall space of any unit at the center, at least for the side facing the parking lot. The most western unit probably has the most wall space, if you include the side facing the road as well. 

    The weirdest thing is the unit directly controlled by the hospital, the one with the scrubs store, as well as the center manager's office, is blue. While not the official color of the hospital, it is the most notable. Now, while I admit I haven't been to that many places, I don't remember seeing any shopping center with such a wide range of different colors for each unit. I'm not sure it works, but that may be point. More opinions on this at a later date.

Goggling Gaggles of Geese

    I have been noticing that a once rare trend has slowly been taking off. Or rather putting on. See, I've noticed people dressing their ceramic geese, or perhaps ducks, in various costumes to celebrate various holidays and seasons.

    The first time I remember seeing this was almost twenty years ago. A house on my way to work had a goose on a pedestal by the steps to their porch. Then they got a second one, or maybe they had two all along. Anyway, the woman who lived there would sew up costumes for them, depending upon the season. I would eagerly await to see what she came up with as holidays rolled around. Then, one morning, the geese were gone. For some reason, someone stole the geese, costumes and all. Now, I couldn't sure if the geese were attached to the pedestal or not, but the birds were gone. This is when I found out about the background of the geese, through various means. After some time, the geese were recovered and the perpetrator was jailed. The first new costumes for the geese were a police officer uniform and a striped convict suit. Soon, a tiny gosling statue was added between the two, although it rarely got its own costume.

    The woman would later die, but the geese remained.  The new owners of the house weren't into decorating so much, and the geese would be naked. I believe that no one is currently living in the place, as giant weeds have slowly overtaken not just the yard, but even the dirt road to the trailer above the house. The weeds are so tall that I can't even tell if the geese are still there, or even the pedestal and steps. I can barely tell that the house is still there, if it wasn't on a small hill. That's how tall those weeds are.

    For many years, I barely saw any costumed geese anywhere. Then, last summer, I noticed that a house had places a pair of geese, one on each side at the top of the steps to the porch. Last summer, the geese were in swimsuits, one even had an inner tube. Over the next few months, the geese would be dressed in clothes representative of the various holidays, which many in actual costumes. For Christmas, one goose was Santa Claus, while the other was just in a red, white, and green dress. Or was it a reindeer. I think I remember a goose as Christmas tree? Anyway, one had bunny ears for Easter

    I'm finding it hard to remember, as so many other houses now are doing the exact same thing. While the original goose lady made many of her costumes, it now looks like an entire industry has popped up to make sure geese don't stay naked. Just this morning, I saw over a dozen places with at least of their geese in get-ups. That's right, some of these homes have so many geese that not all of them are dressed. The home from the last paragraph have their geese in old-timey swim ware complete with bathing caps. Another house has one goose graduating in a cap and gown; its partner is still in the farming gear she has had since after Easter. Multiple geese are in red, white, and blue, dressed like Uncle Sam. One even has attached wings, spread out and holding flags in each side. One house has their goose dressed as a giant ladybug, with translucent wings unfurled behind it. 

    In all fairness, this trend is a little easier to take in than having your giant Halloween skeleton up year round and dressing it up for different holidays, just so you don't have to take it down. I imagine it's less expensive too, as these ceramic birds are only a foot tall or so. Still, everyone deciding to clothe geese at the same time is somewhat freaky. Cute, but kind of weird.

Popping up out of Nowhere

    I'm back to my regular schedule, and it is time for a favorite of mine. Today I'll talk about the newest sodas out in the market. Each one of them is different for me, but in totally different ways.

    First is Cherry Sprite. No, not Cherry Limeade Sprite Chill, which is a different product available in many places. This is just Cherry Sprite which is an exclusive limited edition flavor found only at Food City brand stores. Normally, I don't drink Sprite, or any Coca Cola product. However, I felt that I needed to try this as I never knew a smaller regional market like Food City would get a major exclusive. At first, I thought that this would be like Cherry 7-Up, a cherry-flavored drink from a company mostly known for lemon-lime.  I was wrong, as this is just regular Sprite with cherry added. While some people like the flavor combination, I didn't. The mix of the two flavors didn't work well together, as the lemon-lime overpowered the cherry, whose notes barely registered. After the original bottle, I didn't try it again.

    Next comes something even more out of left field for me, Dirty Mountain Dew. I rarely ever have Mountain Dew. Usually, it is just a quick blast from a fountain added to my usual Dr Pepper/Pepsi mix, and very rarely at that since the flavors rarely work right. However, I have a slight partiality to cream soda/vanilla flavors, so I decided to try it. Mountain Dew has had multiple flavors for twenty-five years now. (See Code Red/cherry, Live Wire/orange, and Voltage/raspberry.) I have never tried one before, just because of the flavor. Not even the watermelon-flavored Major Melon that just got discontinued for Dirty Dew. Personally, I don't see why vanilla is getting added to everything, but why argue. The color is a pale greenish-yellow, which is somewhat off-putting. I opened the bottle and got a strong whiff of vanilla. I wasn't expecting that. The cream soda flavor was pronounced, but not overwhelming. The regular lemon-lime of the Mountain Dew blended seamlessly with that of the cream soda. It reminded me or lime sherbet, even though I rarely have had it, and I didn't really like it the few times I've had it. The flavor was just different enough from anything else I tasted that made me want it more. (Maybe it was the extra caffeine.) Anyway, I have wound up getting some more bottles for extra testing and tasting. I even got the zero-sugar one by accident to try later on today. I mean, my mind is blown that I like this so much. Not enough maybe to buy a carton or six-pact at once, but possibly a few more times.

    Finally, Dr Pepper has brought back the Coconut Cream flavor for the summer. Keep it away from me. I just hate coconut that much.

    I am looking forward to the battle of the root beer floats as Mug and A & W both bring out their root beer/cream soda combos soon. Which I find odd, as root beer already has some vanilla notes naturally. Oh well.

My Video Game Library: Bonus Stage

    Normally, I would call this extra post an addendum or errata. However, since we are talking video games, bonus stage sounded cooler. Here is the post where I clarify some details I missed in the main posts of this series, as well as correct some mistakes. I did a lot of research this time around, so any mistakes are from bad memory and are somewhat intentional. Let's start.

    I mentioned that I played games at friends and family members' homes, but not what they were. My next-door neighbor had an Atari. He had that horrible port of Pac-Man, Pitfall, and the game with the tanks (Combat?). An older cousin had a Coleco. He had Donkey Kong, a basketball game, and poker.  A slightly younger cousin may have had an Atari as well. I think he had Space Invaders and Centipede, but I played the least amount of time with him, so I might be forgetting some. My best friend in grade mentioned some sort of Indiana Jones/Raiders game while talking with a mutual friend, but I never went to his home to play any. Either he didn't want me there, or my mother wouldn't allow me to go. Both options were equally possible. Finally, I went to one friend's place in high school, without anyone knowing. After some sports type stuff, he went back to his room, where he had an NES. Some guys were playing baseball on it, so I couldn't get a chance to play before I had to leave.  

    I tried to mention everywhere I bought my games. If I didn't mention a location, it was probably due to the fact that my mom got it for me as a gift. (Christmas, birthday, late birthday, etc.) She usually got them at a local Walmart. Mostly Prestonsburg, but sometimes Pikeville or one further out if it couldn't be found closer. Since I wasn't usually there, I can only guess at these assumptions.

    The algorithm on Facebook picked up on my recent interest in video games. One of the articles it picked out involved older retailers. That's when I remembered Babbage's, an old video game store. I'm pretty sure that the GameStop at the Huntington Mall was originally a Babbage's and that is where I actually got those games from. In fact, there is a good chance that the unknown game store at the Fayette Mall in Lexington was a Babbage's as well. It just wasn't open as long.

    I need to mention two stores that I have visited many times, but never buying anything. The first is Page 3 Game Zone. They have sold used and new games for many years, but I've never bought any there. I've bought hundreds, if not thousands, of other things there (comics, books, cards, even a small paint brush for miniatures), but video games. Then there is CM Games at the Fayette Mall. They also have new and used video games, among other types of games. While I've visited many times, I have yet to buy anything at all there.

    As I mentioned at the start, I was skipping giving some games a post, for various reasons. The first is Duck Hunt, which would be obvious as it game with the NES. I hated the light gun, and I easily beat the game by standing a foot or two in front of the television screen. Another NES game, I am too embarrassed to mention, but it included "cookie" in the title. I almost remember playing Dr. Mario in color somewhere, but I don't remember buying it separate.

    While nearing the end of this series, I finally remembered a PS1 game that I had totally forgotten about. It was a game based on Magic:  The Gathering. I liked the game, mostly the back story and collectability of it, but I never played it in public. I asked for the game as a way to play it, without getting embarrassed in public for my bad skills. However, since I didn't have internet access back then, I could only play the story mode.  None of the rules made any sense. I may have gotten far into it, but I don't remember. It was just too weird. I might come back to this in next year's update.

    I mentioned the video game-based cartoons I watched regularly, but not other media. I was planning on it, but I ran out of time that post. I have never followed any live action television series based on a game. I don't go to theaters, so I have never seen any type of game-based movie. The closest I've gotten to watching a full movie is with Wreck-It-Ralph on Disney, and not the entire movie all at once. (Yes, I am immature for my age.) And it just barely can qualify as a video game movie.  I might have gotten a few comics on video games, for free in hand-outs, but I have never collected any series.

    And that is just ab out all for this post. Come back this Wednesday, as I return to my regular schedule. See you then.

My Video Game Library: Afterthoughts

    Well, I've come to the end of My Video Game Library series. I have played a lot of games over the year, losing a lot of times, but winning quite a bit too. Not as much as I would have liked, but I won.

    I remember a television series on TBS in the 80s. It was a "game show" involving people competing on arcade games. Each round, one of the players would win the chance to determine which of the arcade games they would be playing and who they would play against. While they would usually pick games they would be good at, they would occasionally choose a game they had never played before. One time, the contestant chose one of those animated style games, like Dragon's Lair, only this one involved these two thieves trying to make a getaway. Both players were wrecking their cars all over the place. Neither one gained any points that round, I think. The player who did the best over the show won the prizes. It has been so long since this show was on that I can't remember much else about it.

    Flash forward to the 2000s. I was just flipping through the channels, when I caught a computer game competition on one of the ESPN channels. One of the games was the Aztec/Mayan-themed one where you have to shoot balls at a series of other balls as they spiral inward towards the center to eliminate them. I am guessing that whoever got the largest cumulative score over all the games they played would win. While I never tuned in, I've even heard about shows about teams competing in these massive battle Royale style games, such as Fortnite, for real life prizes.

    Nowadays, students in both college and high school can compete in video games for actual recognition, as if it were varsity sports. When I decided to try to get into gaming, I had no idea that it could turn into something for real money. The idea is so alien to me. However, the realization is also scary for me. It's similar to how I felt when I realized in my mid 20s that I could have been an athlete in school. I had the ability to compete, but not the compulsion to do so. I mean, I only have played basketball once outside of gym class once in my life. I just don't have the right body type to enjoy it. However, with just a little push, I could have gotten into baseball, maybe even football. Heck, if my school had track, I would have tried out immediately. Unfortunately, it didn't start until after I graduated. 

    Now, I could get money just for playing games. It feels wrong on some level. While I don't play those battle-style variety of game (too violent), I have seen contests for other games that I do play. Unfortunately, I never seem to be able to make it far in those. I almost qualified in a Candy Crush contest but I could never play enough to make it far. In just the past week, Golf Clash has started a competition for money, tied to various gameplay features. I have both of my accounts registered, but I don't think it will amount to anything. I am still unsure about the rules, but I doubt that I am skillful enough to contribute much to it. Still, I guess I'll try. 

    The idea of playing for money, though. Just beyond me, but if that's what I can add to gaming to change the experience, so be it.

    Come back this Saturday for one final post in this series focusing on errata and bonus information.

My Video Game Side Quest: School

    That's right.  I played games at school. 

    Although not an actual game, or a "real" computer for that matter, my first experience of games at school was in first grade when I got sent over to second grade for my reading lessons. I can't explain it either. Anyway, there was this thing called a Systems 80. It had a monitor with four or five buttons under it. You would put a strip of tape on a punch card, stuck int into the system, and a series of pictures would pop up as an audio track would play over some headphones attached to it. You were given prompts and answer questions by pressing the buttons. When done, you took out the card and presented it to the teacher who would grade it, based on the holes on the tape that corresponded to the buttons you pressed.  

    I didn't get to be at a real computer until fourth grade when I was part of the inaugural Talented and Gifted program (TAG) at my school. We had special advanced lessons involving a number of different topics. Among them were advanced number theory, learning French and ASL (the former using a Systems 80 at times), helping to paint a mural for the school library (some of the details I did got painted over later), and computing. We did some basic coding, in BASIC, and played games during our brief periods at the screen.  (We also played board games designed to teach, well, advanced game playing. Chess was one, but anything without dice was allowed. We particularly loved a game about evacuating a volcanic island.) One of the games was probably Oregon Trail. I never touched it, but I think others did. I tried a sci-fi game once, but it was too complicated to figure out what to do. There was also a trivia game. You had to match up pairs of answers. For instance, one question asked about superheroes and their secret identities. The name 'Lamont Cranston' was on both sides. I didn't know yet that The Shadow used the name to hide his original one, which I can't remember right now.

    High school didn't have as many opportunities. At the end of my sophomore year, maybe junior, I wound up wandering around campus, ending in the typing lab with of bunch of guys playing the diving section of an Olympics game. No one knew the exact buttons to play, and the game acted up anyway, so winning was never an issue.  We were just goofing around. There were other sports, but I don't remember much about them, if we played them. There was also a version for winter sports. We were just as clueless for the figure skating portion.

    Anyway, that experience led me to take typing my senior year. I also thought it would be a way to get me on the yearbook staff. Unfortunately, I found out too late that you need a year of typing to make the staff. Not only was my dream shattered, but I had to suffer the indignity of being the only senior in a class full of freshman. At least I frequently got to use the computer, or the Mac that showed up later in the year, for lessons. The backspace key makes drills so much easier. (I only used it twice, at most. I swear.) I usually arrived early enough to see the actual yearbook staff, who took accounting, as they were finishing up. Sometimes, they were playing games. One was a lemonade stand business sim; another was poker. I played neither, but I sometimes offered suggestions.

    At least my dream of being the editor of the school paper survived, even if we barely touched our textbooks. And teacher didn't even know they had been changed that year. Or that an entire section of the class got detoured into doing a major project for the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day (I actually took control of the school for a brief time due to this, but that is for another post.) instead of making the paper. The class met in the computer lab. There was some overlap with the computer class beforehand, so some students would be finishing up the games they were playing when I got there. I remember helping out some people solve a case from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? (I actually asked for the NES port for Christmas, but my mom never got it.) I would help someone else with a haunted house text-based game, but I couldn't solve one puzzle until well after the game.

    As editor, I mostly got to use the Mac as my computer. While I searched a lot through it, I don't think I ever found any games. That doesn't mean I never 'played' with it. As I may have mentioned once in a post, a friend and I were goofing around instead of working just before winter break. We wound up altering some clip art of Santa Claus into a punk rock 'Satan' Clause. What did you expect? We were kids. (Technically, my friend had been eighteen for a few months, but since we didn't go to grade school together, I was unfamiliar with his birthday. And I would turn eighteen a few weeks later. However, we were still in school, so we were kids. What matters is we didn't get in trouble when we were caught. So there.)

    The only time I was at a computer at community college was during a computer science course my second year. We barely made it to the actual computers in the lab/s (a second lab was started in a former nursing lab room halfway through the semester). One of the lessons involved a tutorial that could be considered a type of game, involving learning how to move things on screen. Everything else was mostly drills. For my last two-and-a-half years of college, I never used a computer. The lab at the school was in the basement level of a building I rarely went to. The library wasn't even fully computerized yet, but I didn't need the help for research. I'm an expert on that, usually.

    And that ends the side quest. Wednesday ends this series, so come back for the big finish.

My Video Game Library: Golf Clash

    I didn't want to play a sports game based on golf. However, a friend of mine on Facebook invited me to play Golf Clash.  Since I wanted to be friendly, I took him up on the offer. (I would later find out that he got an in-game bonus for every friend invite who joined the game. I positive that had nothing to do with it.). While I wouldn't say I was hooked, I did stay with the game longer than I thought I would. I would soon find out that another friend of mine also played Golf Clash.  That surprised me. One of the features of the game is that you can challenge your friends to matches. One day, before I got my own computer, I wound up playing against the two of them at the same time, alternating between them for over ten minutes. I had to stop because I was running out of time at the library.  I forget where I was that day, but it was getting confusing playing between the two of them. I've played with other friends, on occasion, but most of them have since left the game.

    The object of the game is basically just golf. Two players put up money from the game, play a hole, and the winner gets both players' money.  The winner also gets a chest with a little more money, as well as cards to develop clubs. Originally, the holes were all created for the game, involving situations that were really feasible in real life. Recently, they have been licensing real world courses for the game, which are more authentic, but not as much fun.

    Sometime after I started, and just barely getting really good at the game, Golf Clash introduced the concept of clans. Up to fifty players could get together in a clan, getting extra bonuses for their combined wins for how well their clan did each week. My friend found a clan, and I joined him there. I managed to get my second friend in the same clan as well, but he got kicked out after a short while because our clan's leader at the time didn't feel he was playing enough. However, both my friend and I have stuck through ever since.  In fact, he somehow got to be our clan's leader after the original one felt that the clan had too many players not caring enough about competing.

    I have since become one of the better players there, KentuckyBBN, even though I still don't consider myself that great. Luck is still playing a big role in my playing. Sometime in the next month or two, I will have maxed out one of the power clubs of the game, after already maxed out all of the basic and medium clubs. Golf Clash has since instituted seasons, offering better benefits and challenges lastly every four weeks. (Players can pay to get them faster, as well as many, many, many other offers. I've read on social media about the complaints over pay-to-play.) One new feature that has just started is a three-way challenge among clans, competing over a weekend a course with many club drawbacks that can only be resolved by having the best scores on four secondary courses, whose ownerships can cycle every four hours. My clan won the first time it was out, but only came in second the next two times. I must admit, I had some burnout playing the same holes time and again, but I do what I must for my clan.

    That includes taking over as leader. My friend, the current leader, hasn't been able to play much lately. If he needs me to step in, I could. I would just need a week to prepare and proper timing, and I would be in a position to take over at the next season change. I admit, my style would be different from his, but I might be up for the challenge. Maybe. I still find it strange that someone who hates sports games as much as I has become a sports gamer. 

    

My Video Game Library: SongPop

    I first saw SongPop on Facebook, just there on the side where the games used to be. I have always been pretty good at music, so this was a clear for me. SongPop 2, as it was called back then, is basically a version of the television game show Name That Tune or a "reverse Shazam." A computer plays a snippet of a song from a category you chose (usually an artist, genre, or timeframe; although some categories can be based on features from the titles or lyrics), and you have to guess the song correctly as quickly as possible before the other player. You get more points if you guess correctly sooner, so that an incorrect guess doesn't automatically mean you lose, especially if the other player takes longer to get all of their songs correct. There was also a second game mode, Party, where you and four other players try to guess songs as quickly as possible. You get bonus points based on how fast you are. After the twenty-four hour Party is over, you gain a prize based on your ranking among the over a hundred other possible party players.  While I never got to play against of any of my Facebook friends, I still loved the game. I had a bunch of regular players that I vied against as much as I could.

    Then, SongPop announced that they were leaving Facebook at the end of the year. On that December 31, I played like I normally would, thinking I had until midnight to play. I was waiting until that evening to say goodbye. When I tried to log back on to the game, it had disappeared. Unfortunately, they had meant midnight their time, in England I think, not here. I hated that I never said goodbye. I even wrote a post on my blogcast about it. Sure, the game was still available as an app, but I didn't have a phone at the time.  Or a PC. So, I had to stop playing.

    But only for a few months.

    The following summer or so, SongPop finally developed an app for Macs. I even got an email about it.I quickly downloaded it, when I could. I still had a prize available from the last Party I never got to finish. All but one of my regular players had left me. Well, the computer opponent had to stay, but one woman kept with me during my absence. I would always try to give her a category she could compete with whenever we played.

    SongPop Classic, as it was now named, had added a few features. They now had challenges (daily, weekly, monthly, and expert) that one could finish to add points to a prize path. Some require playing the other SongPop game, which leaves me out.  For now. It took me a while, but I ultimately got to the biggest prize at the end of the month, and even the bonus ones available beyond that. Last year, they added Carnival mode, a themed group of challenges similar to Party mode, but available to everyone and not just the 200 or so for parties. The Carnival lasts seven day, and there is about one a month, or so. They are usually based around holidays or similar events. 

    I currently have a group of around thirty or so players that I compete with every week. Some drop me after a few times, as our musical tastes don't line up, or if they only want to get money from me. The number of players who want me to buy naked pics of them are way too many. Others, I drop if I don't hear from them after four or five months. I try to give everyone a real chance at coming back.

    Unfortunately, one of those players I had to drop was the one who stuck with me during my absence. She started to miss challenges, on a very frequent basis. She mentioned she was having problems, medical I think. Possibly financial as well. She was gone for a few weeks at a time. Then, she missed a few months. After a year, I finally deleted the game with her. I had kept her going as long as I could.  Even with the intentional and accidental deletions, I still needed the extra space I needed to maintain a minimum number of active games. While I hope she is okay, I'm pretty sure she isn't. 

    So, I'm still chugging along, playing at a fairly high level. I'm discovering songs that came out long ago that I missed, remembering oldies that I all but forgot. I keep up with new music too. I still wonder about the newer version of SongPop.  It has a number of new features and types of play not on 2. And I wonder what happened to all of the players who I had to delete their games.

    I'm sorry.

My Video Game Side Quest: Apps and Ads

    When I first got a computer, one of the things I couldn't wait for was solitaire. I knew from experience that many PCs had their own solitaire programs. I played it a lot in the 90s, since I didn't need anyone else to play. Well, I quickly found out by checking my MacBook, as well as a third-party manual, that Apple doesn't include a solitaire app with its Macs. They have Chess instead. Now, I played chess quite a bit when I was young, but I wasn't that big of a fan.  Since it took a few weeks after I got my MacBook for the installation of the internet at home, chess was the only game I had. Sure, I could customize a little, but I still didn't like playing it. At least there was also a sliding tile game widget hidden within a file. That I really liked. Too bad it got dropped in a later update.

    At least I had internet access at work to download a few games until I got hooked up at home. The first solitaire app I tried was technically free, but you had to buy extra layouts after the limited ones included. The first tableau was impossible for me to solve. I think I accidentally skipped a few layouts, preventing me from ever trying to solve them. I stopped playing it fast. I also got Epic Solitaire, at least I think that was the name. It had different modes to play, customizable card designs and tabletop, and a daily challenge. I played the challenge almost first thing everyday when I turned on my MacBook, usually playing a second game, or more, as well. Every day until my first MacBook died. Of course, I got the game again three days later with my new computer, but it wasn't the same. I couldn't get the game to look the same. I wound up not playing the game ever again. (Like a dunce, I didn't realize that the original game was still on my iCloud. I could have just retrieved it. Oh, well.)  I also got two pool games. One had basic graphics, but an easy mechanics system. The other had much better graphics, but some of the mechanics weren't as intuitive. I played the former way more. I stopped with the pool games after I got the internet installed and I could play my Facebook games instead.

    The only other game I have on my MacBook is Songpop Classic, and I only have that one due to the fact that it got dropped my Facebook gaming. It didn't get a Mac version for months after that, but that is for a later post. I have yet to activate any of the free trials to Apple Arcade on any of my devices. Strangely enough, the Songpop app appeared on my iPhone the same time I got it on my MacBook, without me having to download it.

    I only got an iPhone because I needed it for SFA for my grad school.  I wasn't planing to use it for games and such, but that's what happened. Not only do I have Songpop Classic on my phone, but I have Golf Clash as well. I had to migrate it from Facebook after the game makers had some difficulties with them. At least I had a phone by then to make it work. (More on this it a later post.)

    One thing I noticed on each game is the huge amount of ads on the phone versions, many of them for other games. When on my Mac, there were few ads, and they were usually just there when a special offer was given or when switching between modes. On the phone, Songpop has an ad after every single match it seems, not just occasionally. It's why I try to stick to my MacBook. Golf Clash also had ads, and they can be more intrusive. At first, many of these ads were interactive. You could play a level to try out the game. Sometimes, the playing would stop just before you could beat the level, though. Instead of continuing, the ad would take you to the game's site so you could purchase it. Very infuriating.

    So far, the only game I've actually gotten was one of those fruit merging games, that I keep on my second phone, the one without a SIM. I've also tried different merging games on Bing and YouTube. No other type of game that I've looked at was enjoyable enough to download to my phones. I don't think that I'll get the chance to do it again. Recently, I've not been getting ads for games on Golf Clash. Instead, I'm getting ads for AppleTV, wild salmon, TEMU, and chair tai chi for seniors. I guess that I've aged out of the game demographics, although Clash seems to have a new ad partner as well. The number of possible ads has decreased a lot as well. 

     I just want another test run ad. I want to try out something else. Especially since I don't eat salmon and don't need to sit in a chair for exercise.

My Comic Book Journey: 2026 Update

    I'm taking a break from my current video game series to give the update for my 2024 series on comic book buying locations. (I would have done one on series, but so many have had multiple volumes over the decades, that it would be difficult for a non-fan to understand all the differences. Besides, the series is about the experience of getting the comics, not the enjoyment of reading and collecting them.) I have a lot to update about, so let's get started with the biggest news.

• Page 3 Game Zone:  After over a year of not having new books, Page 3 finally started getting new comics in March. I restarted my weekly pull in April. They still haven't been able to establish connections with all distributors/publishers, but I will be able to get the majority of my books from them. They had a soft re-opening last fall, with being almost full time this spring. Because they had to stop all orders after last year's flood, it took them some time to get back up to speed. Having major changes in the worlds of comic book distribution hurt them as well. That's why they can't get certain titles yet, such as Marvel. Still, I'm doing pretty good for now.

    When Page 3 closed last year due to flooding, I waited a few months before trying to find my comics. I had the mistaken belief that they would continue getting the orders they already had, but wait on any new ones. Yeah, I'm overly hopeful. Anyway, when I found out what was happening, I started making plans on getting my missing books. I started with the places I already knew about, then I started researching the entire state for places I could go to. I even looked into a few neighboring states, hoping for a lead. As such, I was able to maintain my hobby for over a year. This meant going to new places or returning to old ones to buy from, finally.

• Super Hero Creamery, Huntington Mall, ✓:  After avoiding it on my first trip to the Mall, soon after it opened there, I made a special trip that included my first try to retrieve my comics. I had a long list of books to get, and I wasn't disappointed at what I found. As I mentioned in a post last year, I was able to get over a dozen books, but I could've gotten more. In an effort to save money, I skipped a few series that I felt I could easily get later, as well as some that had gaps. I have since made two more trips there, with me getting about a month's worth of comics last fall. However, I was only able to get one comic this past January, and it wasn't the most current issue. I'm somewhat worried that they might be having financial problems. They don't carry many collectables beyond comics, aside from the ice cream parlor in the rear of the store. (Haven't tried it yet.) Maybe the just moved the current comics to a different place that I missed. (I'm a man; of course I didn't ask for directions. Also, most of the employees were in the back with the parlor.) Still, it is worrisome.
• Cavalier Comics, Norton, VA, ✓:  Late last May, I made my first stop in years here to search for comics. While I have been to this store many times, back in the 2010s, I never got anything here, due to Page 3. They had a nice selection, although they were missing quite a few titles I was missing. Still, I was able to pick up a few, as well as almost getting a few more if it weren't for gaps. While fairly close, I decided not to immediately go back. The roads along the shorter route through Knott and Letcher counties were very damaged from the recent floods, making the trip kind of bad. The longer way on US 23 in Pike was took an extra thirty minutes, and was very boring. Also, there wasn't much else to shop at that felt interesting.
• Comic Interlude, Lexington, ✓, + online:  Before my annual June trip to Lexington, I researched the various comic book shops to find one to get my missing issues. I settled on this one, due to a reachable location along my usual route. Unfortunately, my travel companion reneged on the deal the last second, thinking I was planning to shop online instead of in person. I missed out on about a dozen comics that had sold out in the time it took me to place the order and have it confirmed. Still, the joy I had a week later getting a package with over twenty comics I was missing was amazing. Not only have I placed multiple orders since that first one, I even managed to visit the actual store last November. I even wrote about how I geeked out about it in a post. If I ever move to Lexington, this is a strong contender for my new store. 
• Comic Book World, Florence (and Louisville), KY, online only:  After I missed out on a bunch of issues from Comic Interlude, I made another search for other stores in Kentucky. I settled on this one, as it had a wide selection of comics available online. I had to set up an account to buy them though, only to find out that they were changing the way they sold merchandise. I had to email them my order, instead of just clicking. Still, I was able to get almost all of my missing comics. I could have gotten all of them, but comics from their Louisville location weren't available for online sales. (I was finally able to get the three issues I was still down by buying the trade paperback collection they were in through my store.) I've set up a communication chain for the last few months, alternating with Comic Interlude for my orders. While the emails aren't always responded to on time, I've been mostly satisfied. I will probably make my last order with them soon, for the last new issues I'm needing until Page 3 can start ordering them again.
• The E-Bay Store, Prestonsburg: In desperation, I stopped here last summer to see if they had anything. I couldn't see any new comics I got, but they did have a catalog from a publisher I rarely get anything from.  Most of their older comics weren't things I liked either.
• [The Gaming Co., Pikeville:  This place got hit so badly in the flood, that they had to move to a whole different location that was way bigger. It helped that they may have gotten some fixtures from a a different location that shut down in Charleston, WV.  They were able to reopen shortly before Page 3. I noticed from their Facebook posts that they don't have that big of a selection of comics.  Still haven't been there yet.] {Edited May 20, 2026.}

     Finally, I remembered yet another place that I forgot the first time around.

•   Unknown collectable store, Pikeville:  In the mid-90s, there was a collectable store on 4th Avenue, across from the Hardee's. I think I sent my mom in first, to see what they had, but I don't remember if I actually went in myself. They really didn't have comics, so I never went again. Some time later, the closed. Whether they went out of business or move, I never found out. The building was later torn down, with the space becoming a parking lot, next to the church next door.

    And finally, finally, in a few months, expect part two of this update. While writing this year's series on video games, I realized I may have missed a few things about buying comics I should had added. Expect part two in July or so.  See you Monday, as I return to video games.

My Video Game Library: Candy Crush

    Last year, in a trial of sorts for this series, I described my history with the various Candy Crush games. I don't want to go over everything, just a few months later, so I will just give the highlights for this post and give a few recent updates. Yes, a lot has changed since I first talked about Candy Crush about seven months ago.

    I started playing Candy Crush Saga on Facebook about the same time it debuted as a game show on CBS. It was about the time they started phasing out most of the story elements from the game. When it began, one needed to win each level in a stage to complete a story element, such as repairing a candy factory or refilling a lake. Now, new players have no idea why they have to rescue baby dragons or use a flying saucer as a power-up, because those story elements have gone. Sure, some story beats roll out whenever a special event starts, but it has basically been allowed to fade away. The levels, obstacles, and power-ups have changed, even some before I started playing. Even the layout is different, going from a stylized game board to a scrolling line of repeating backgrounds. Just this week, some artistic elements has been updated, while a glitch with a daily bonus still hasn't been fixed after a month. At one point, I was winning so much, that I was in danger of reaching the end of the game and having to wait for new levels to drop. Now, I'm lucky to beat a few levels each week. I can go for days without a win, only to go on a streak soon after. I'm nowhere near the end any more. Currently, I play once or twice a day, usually at work in the mid-morning or afternoon. Rarely do I play at night any more.

    Candy Crush Soda Saga has the same issues with story elements, possibly to a greater degree. At least you still see the characters sometimes in the original game. The Facebook version barely has a background anymore. I don't even get the chance to play in events. Not a one has ever shown up, while other players get them all the time. I'm still enjoying the random extra bonuses that popped up for a few weeks last year whenever I played. I'm only now starting to get back into the double digits, although I have used up most of my gold.  Way more than I should have. I am facing worse setbacks here than in the original game. I usually play a few rounds first thing in the morning, only occasionally playing at other times.

    Candy Crush Jelly Saga is the only game that still has some of its story elements out in the open, if only because of the competitive challenge levels. Like Soda, I have yet to experience an event for Jelly. I think they are out there, just not for my version. Recently, I accidentally befriended a bunch of strangers, and I now get life requests and gifts.  I hate that, but it somewhat makes up for not beating levels as fast as I could otherwise. I usually play at night, losing a few lives, then stopping. I return and finish later in the evening, after those lives replenish. 

    There are other Candy Crush games, but they are only apps and not available on Facebook. (I'm not counting the recently added brainteaser version on Yahoo. I've solving it since February, but it hasn't updated the game for a few days.) While I probably keep my progress if I switchover to the apps, I don't want to. I've already got enough games on my phone that take up a lot of my time. I don't need any more. Unless forced to, by having Facebook finally dropping the games. Maybe. 

My Video Game Library: Cartoons

    Before I got my first video game system, I got much of my fill for gaming from cartoons. At one time int he 80s, you had Pac-Man and Dragon's Lair on ABC, a compilation that featured Donkey Kong, Q*Bert, Kangaroo, and Pitfall (with later seasons featuring Donkey Kong Jr. and Space Ace) on CBS, and Captain N on NBC with Simon Belmont (from the 'Castlevania' games), Kid Icarus, and a very inaccurate Mega-Man, with appearances by Link and Zelda, on NBC. There was even a Super Mario series mixed in with live-action segments in syndication by the early 90s. I mostly missed that one, since it was on a time when I couldn't watch. 

    The 90s would also bring a fairly accurate Mega-Man cartoon. The season/series finale even brought in time-traveling characters from Mega-Man X. There was also a cartoon based on 'Street Fighter II' on USA, although it featured many elements from the live-action movie. I didn't like the animation style for the last season, although they brought in elements from Street Fighter Alpha for a surprise. Fox had some cartoons from games I didn't actually play, such as Monster Hunter. I think the show had a fairly deep plot, but I'm not sure it really reflected the actual game. There was also Where in the World Is Carmen San Diego? I really liked that one, as Rita Moreno voiced the titular villain, even though the only episode the visited Kentucky had them at a generic coal mine. (I also liked the PBS game show for kids. It was a nearly perfect blend of education and entertainment. The follow-up Where in Time leaned too much into education.) I even seem to remember a cartoon based on Mortal Kombat, but I never watched that one that much.

    Of course, the biggest video game cartoon was Pokémon. I knew about both the game and the cartoon before it debuted in America, mostly from the now banned episode that caused so many kids to have seizures. I watched it from its start in syndication through Kids WB onto Cartoon Network, where it went all the way through Gen VI. The show then went to streaming for the next to generations, before ending with the original human cast. A new cast was created for the current games. Never saw them.

    The late 90s brought the unusual knock-off Digimon. This cartoon had an overarching plot line that made much more sense. The first block/seasons of episodes feature a bunch of kids transported to a digital world, meeting up their Digimon partners. They managed to get back to earth, and they saved both worlds, only to have their partners return to their world. The second block had a flash forward of a few years, adding many new cast members, as the older ones mostly kept to the background. A similar menace arose, but this time, the two worlds managed to merge, allowing everyone on earth to bond with their own Digimon partner. The third block took place in a different universe with different characters. I couldn't understand much of it. The fourth block moved to a different network, and existed in another universe again. I missed large sections of it, but it was easily the weirdest one of all.

    Since the 2000s, there haven't been many gaming cartoons that I watched. Some, like one based on a Mega-Man spinoff, weren't really interesting. The latest Pac-Man cartoon from Discovery Family was barely watchable. There was also a highly-rated Castlevania cartoon, but it was on a steaming platform I didn't have. Frankly, so much is now streaming and not on cable, that there aren't any cartoons I can watch any more.